Brave Software released an update for the stable version of the company’s Brave Browser on September 27, 2022. Brave Version 1.44.101 release notes are available, but one feature that was originally scheduled to release with the new version of the browser, has not made it.
Copy Clean Link is a new privacy focused feature that copies only the relevant parts of a website address. Some websites add strings to links that are not relevant for loading the right resource on the website. These extra bits of information are often used for tracking purposes and several browser makers have added protections to their browsers recently that deal with those.
Mozilla, maker of Firefox, for example, launched Firefox 102 with support for removing known tracking parameters from URLs when they are opened in the web browser. Brave removes some query parameters for several known tracking attempts as well.
The new Brave browser feature may be used to copy website addresses without additional parameters. All it takes for that is to right-click on the address bar and select the new “Copy clean link (only main URL)” option of the context menu that opens. Brave strips excess parameters from the address, without changing its link destination.
The option to copy the full address, alongside all the parameters that may not be necessary, remains available. It is necessary as some sites use it to power some functionality.
The copy feature works only when right-clicking on links in the address bar. Brave Software plans to extend it to other areas of webpages open in the browser, but for now, it only works in the address bar. In the future, Brave will include an option to copy the clean URL of any link displayed on a webpage.
The feature should work on all sites, as it drops the “query” part off any address open in the browser. Some users may be proficient enough to cut the excess parts of URLs manually, others may appreciate the new option when sharing links or loading them in different applications on their own machines.
Copy Clean Links is available for testing in the development editions of the Brave Browser.
Closing Words
Copy Clean Links needs right-click support on all links to make it really useful, as the majority of links are not covered currently by it. The URL needs to be open in the address bar to use the feature currently.
Now You: what is your take on copy clean links?
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